Hidden moth

Chapter 23 One thing brings down another thing

There are two surveillance cameras on each floor of Sesame Apartment. Each building has thirty floors. In addition to home surveillance, elevator surveillance, etc., all surveillance cameras total nearly four hundred. It is impossible for the central control staff on duty to check them all at any time.

The elevator surveillance is still good, so anyone who used the elevator and entered or exited the three floors during this period may be suspected. Anyone who used the fire escape instead of the elevator is also suspected.

The police took a statement from the interrogation, copied the surveillance footage from Building No. 3 and took it back for further investigation. They will contact He Kao again if necessary.

After all this commotion, it was almost dawn. Liang Kai, who lived on the 19th floor, felt a little scalp-tingling. He didn't expect He Kao to be so decisive and call the police.

Huang Xiaopang strongly suggested calling the police. His father, a former police officer, once told his children, "If someone threatens you not to call the police, the best thing to do is to call the police immediately!"

Because people who say this kind of thing are afraid of the police, not you. For example, if someone wants to kill you, if you call the police, then at least they can identify the suspect. If you don't call the police, you might die unjustly.

Liang Kai felt a little annoyed. Normally, the police wouldn't put much effort into investigating a case like this, but who could say for sure? After all, it involved a gun! According to the police's line of thought, all the residents on these three floors were suspects.

There was no point in warning He Kao now, as he had already called the police. Fortunately, the police hadn't searched He Kao's apartment thoroughly, and the three security cameras he had installed were still there, so perhaps the police didn't take it seriously.

He could still observe He Kao in secret, but he had already concluded in his heart that there was little hope. This He Kao should not be the Hidden Moth, and the pendant was not a Hidden Moth item.

In fact, even if Huang Xiaopang did not suggest it, He Kao would have called the police. Because from the perspective of an outsider, this is a normal reaction of an ordinary person, and not calling the police would be a problem.

Fortunately, the next day was the weekend, so it didn't delay anyone's work. The police were quite diligent, notifying the local police station for assistance and dispatching a trainee officer to conduct a household survey, registering every resident on the three floors.

In fact, the residents' information is all in the office of Sesame Apartment, but the police still need to go there and be accompanied by property staff. Huang Xiaopang actually had some relationship with this police officer and volunteered to accompany him on the home visit.

The visit is just a formality. They knock on each door to identify the person, verify the rental information, and ask about the situation last night. If someone is not at home, the property management will open the door and take a look inside to prevent someone from deliberately hiding.

In this case, not only must there be an accompanying witness, but the law enforcement recorder must also be turned on throughout the process.

Liang Kai was a little nervous when the police knocked on his door. Fortunately, the police only asked some questions and recorded some information. He easily fooled them without revealing any flaws.

He Kao called the police early Saturday morning, and the police station visited him during the day. The hardworking officers worked overtime on a weekday. On Sunday, Manager Yang and Xiao Hu, the administrator from the Zhima Apartment sales office, also came to see He Kao.

They came under the guise of offering condolences, but came empty-handed, not even with a fruit basket. After they sat down, their main topic of conversation was inquiries about the case from the previous night. He Kao said he had already told the police everything he needed to know.

In fact, what He Kao told the police was not entirely true. He only said that he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and noticed some movement in the living room. He turned on the light and went out and saw a figure holding a pistol, who turned around and ran away.

Manager Yang stated that since the incident occurred at Sesame Apartment, they had a responsibility to understand the situation and asked He Kao to recreate the scene. This meant that He Kao had to recreate his actions from the previous night, as the police had already asked him to do.

Huang Xiaopang arrived as they were talking and immediately retorted, "It's not your job to be the police. I rented your apartment and something like this happened. The surveillance cameras on all three floors are broken. You should apologize and compensate us, not interrogate us!"

Manager Yang quickly explained that this was also a way of being responsible to the tenants. However, as the conversation went around in circles, the smell became more and more obvious. He just wanted He Kao to admit that he was seeing things the night before.

Even if He Kao only admitted that he might have seen it wrong, the reason would be easy to find, such as the person was still confused after waking up, or the living room was dark because the lights were not on... At least he couldn't be sure that he saw the black shadow holding a gun.

Or perhaps the shadow was holding something in his hand, but he didn't see it clearly and just thought it was a pistol.

Because when He Kao was questioned by the police, his attitude was very clear. He firmly believed that the figure he saw was holding a gun in his hand. As to whether it was a real gun or a simulation gun, that was another matter.

Manager Yang gave enough hints in his words, and later made it clear that as long as He Kao changed his words, his rent would be reduced and he would be given other compensation.

But if He Kao insisted on not changing his mind, there was nothing Sesame Apartment could do. Manager Yang hinted that they should persuade him to cancel his lease and move out. As for the reason, they could look for it in the terms of the rental contract. There would definitely be relevant content.

For example, there is a clause that stipulates that Party B shall not damage Party A's market image by means of defamation, rumor-mongering, distortion, exaggeration and inappropriate remarks.

You read that right. In this rental contract, He Kao is actually Party B! This somewhat violates common sense about contracts. In most cases, the buyer is usually Party A, and the seller is Party B.

The standard contract provided by Zhima Apartment clearly states that it is Party A. However, this issue is irrelevant; what is important is how certain clauses can be argued.

He Kao claimed that he saw a figure holding a gun in his room in the middle of the night. If he was dazzled and saw it wrong, would it be considered inappropriate speech if he insisted on making such a statement without any evidence?
Or is he just spreading rumors?
This is a very thorny issue. Whether it's rented or sold depends on the negotiation between the two parties, but it will undoubtedly damage Sesame Apartment's market image. The main issue is that the gun was too scary; otherwise, the police wouldn't have made such a big fuss about it, and now they can't cover it up.

In fact, when Manager Yang brought Xiao Hu to his house, He Kao felt something was wrong.

Although Sesame Apartment only rents out houses, it is structured as a company with various departments such as sales, finance, property management, security, and administration.

If someone wants to visit to understand the situation, it must be someone from the security department. If someone wants to appease the customer, it should be someone from the company's leadership or the administrative department. Why is it the sales department that comes to visit, and brings a rental contract with them?

Even before the police could say anything, Sesame Apartment was already trying to change his story, even resorting to threats and inducements. But on closer inspection, Sesame Apartment certainly had this motive, and the capital to exploit its size. Don't underestimate the mere existence of five apartment buildings, each 30 stories high, with an average of 20 units per floor, plus ground-floor storefronts adjacent to the street. Together, these units amount to nearly 3,000 apartments and over 40 commercial shops, generating over 10 million yuan in monthly rental income.

From this perspective, Zhima Apartment is a large enterprise with an annual output value of over 100 million yuan. The company's leadership specifically assigned the sales department a task, asking them to minimize the impact of this incident, so Manager Yang came today.

Of course He Kao wouldn't change his words, because Huang Xiaopang was sitting next to him. However, before Huang Xiaopang could show off his love for taunting others, Manager Yang was hit by a dimensionality reduction attack, because Huang Xiaopang's "old rival" Gao Xue'e also showed up.

Ms. E worked half a day at the company on Sunday and came to visit the employees in the afternoon because she had also heard about the incident. As a result, when she entered the room, she happened to see Manager Yang talking loudly, and then she started her special show.

Ms. E took the rental contract, glanced at it, then turned her hand and said that it needed to be signed again.

Manager Yang was a little confused and asked why. Ms. E didn't answer at all and then said that not only this contract, but hundreds of other contracts had to be re-signed.

Manager Yang was even more confused and asked hurriedly what hundreds of contracts meant.

Gao Xue'e could easily provide relevant data. As far as she knew, there were nearly 200 employees of the headquarters of the Tengxin Qiyuan branch who rented houses in Sesame Apartments. If the employees' families or relatives were included, the number would be close to 300.

Including the employees of the subsidiaries and affiliated institutions of Qiyuan Company, as well as the relatives or family members of these employees, the total number of tenants in Sesame Apartment is probably more than 500.

For the administrative department of the Qiyuan branch, this was an oversight. Sesame Apartments are also considered serviced apartments. Since they are hotels frequently stayed by employees, the Tengxin Group usually signs a cooperation agreement and implements the agreed-upon price.

Normally, given the quality of Zhima Apartment, it wouldn't be on Tengxin Group's list of partners. However, since so many employees and their families habitually stay there, the Qiyuan branch headquarters might consider signing a cooperation agreement with Zhima Apartment.

The so-called hotel agreement price is usually a cooperation agreement signed between a large company and a hotel. The company's business travelers have priority to stay in the hotel and enjoy the preferential prices provided by the agreement.

This not only ensures occupancy rates, but also maintains the image of both parties. The reason for this is that the earliest partners of this type of cooperation were basically five-star hotels and internationally renowned companies.

When internationally renowned companies send their staff on business trips to the East, they stay at the most luxurious hotels there. The negotiated price is actually much lower than what ordinary guests pay, and even lower than what tour groups get. This makes both parties look good.

Later on, the number of companies signing cooperation agreements with hotels increased, and the discounts they received depended on the company's image and strength. Today, the Tengxin Group's position in this area is no less than that of world-class companies.

The hotel cooperation agreement it signed also allowed it to obtain the lowest discount price and the highest priority for accommodation. At this moment, President E suggested that the Tengxin Qijiang branch could sign a cooperation agreement with Zhima Apartment to provide a negotiated price to all qualified personnel.

What if Zhima Apartment refuses to sign? Note that Ms. E said she could sign, not that she was begging Zhima Apartment to sign. Long-term rental apartments are readily available everywhere!
Sesame Apartments may be located in a good location, but the value for money is definitely not high. Bada Group recently developed a mixed-use commercial and residential project that was originally intended for sale, but due to recent market changes, it decided to convert several buildings into long-term rental apartments.

The name of the apartment has been registered, called "E Life", and it will be officially opened for business in a few months after renovation is completed.

The distance from there to the office building of the Tengxin branch is not much farther than that of Sesame Apartment. It is only one stop by subway and two stops by bus. It is still within walking distance, and it is even more convenient if you ride a shared bicycle.

Tengxin and Bada Group already have a partnership in Qiyuan, so a partnership agreement would be a natural progression. The apartments there are likely more cost-effective than those in Sesame Street, so a negotiated price would be even more cost-effective.

Although the E-Life Apartment project is smaller in scale, with only three buildings and more than a thousand units, it is enough for all the employees of the business unit to move in.

In addition, as far as Gao Xue'e knows, the offices of two other major Internet companies are also nearby, and many of their employees and relatives also rent houses in Sesame Apartments. If you count those from Tengxin, there should be more than a thousand people in total, right?
The executives of these large companies are all familiar with each other and often have various contacts. If several large companies join together and sign an agreement with the E-Life project, I am afraid that half of Sesame Apartment will be lost.

So, back to the point, Zhima Apartment should proactively request a cooperation agreement with Tengxin as soon as possible. Tengxin will provide a list of existing employee tenants, and after the contract is renewed, the agreed price will be applied...

Although Gao Xue'e is always criticized by Huang Xiaopang in the department, when she is in this kind of occasion, He Kao sees what it means to show off her full aura.

How dare a small Sesame Apartment act like a bully in front of Teng Xin? Gao Xue'e didn't even mention He Kao's matter. Instead, she went straight to talking about the hundreds or even thousands of tenant contracts, which scared Manager Yang so much that he didn't dare to say a word.

The reason was simple: what Gao Xue'e said was true. Manager Yang, who worked in this field, would understand. Although Gao Xue'e was not in charge of this aspect of the business, she was well aware of the situation, which did not prevent her from speaking from this perspective.

Besides, Manager Yang was not quite sure where Gao Xue'e came from, but in short, she was a leader of Tengxin.

Manager Yang didn't dare to bring it up again, but Gao Xue'e brought the topic back to He Kao. She said that what happened to He Kao the night before proved that there were problems with the security of Sesame Apartment, and that it might not meet the cooperation requirements of Tengxin, so they must pay attention to rectification.

Even if Sesame Apartment signs a cooperation agreement with Tengxin Group in the future, if something like this happens again, it will probably have to explain it to the group's legal department instead of coming to the door with the contract and talking nonsense.

Therefore, Zhima Apartment now needs to do three things: first, improve security, second, appease He Kao, and third, strive to reach a cooperation agreement with the Tengxin Group...

Manager Yang had originally come to put pressure on He Kao, but in the end he repeatedly apologized to him, promising to give him an explanation and compensation. He probably still felt dazed and unsteady when he left.

**
P.S. Thank you to all the beautiful and kind ladies! Thank you to all the handsome and dashing men!

(End of this chapter)